I hope everyone had a happy and serene Thanksgiving. If you have had the patience to stick around this blog for a year or more, you'll know that Christmas is A. Big. Deal. here at bradenbell.com. At our vast corporate headquarters, the maintenance staff has been working around the clock to get the building decorated. The marketing department is having a Christmas trivia with the legal offices, the tech support folks are wearing Santa hats to work, we have days where everyone wears their pajamas, eats sugar cookies, and drinks egg nog is on tap in the employee lounge.

Of course, as a believing Christian, Christmas is the birthday of my King, something I enjoy for profound reasons that go as deep as my soul. But, I also just love it all! The fun, the music, the decorations, the food--you name it. It's just a wonderful time of year and I like to celebrate that. So, throughout the month, I'll be posting some of my favorite music or movie suggestions and so on.

Last night, the denizens of Mockingbird Cottage hopped in the car and went and got our tree. After letting the branches fall overnight, we put the lights and decorations on it this evening. We have our favorite Christmas candle burning (Yankee Candle Bayberry. Seriously. It's what Christmas smells like), the nativity sets are up, the stockings are hung--it's time to make merry!

Tonight, since it is Sunday, I thought I'd start out with one of my all-time favorites. Besides being a beautiful song, there is a fascinating human story behind this oratorio. I'll write more about it later. For now, just enjoy the magnificence of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus."